It has been no secret that many people think the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 NFL Draft class was one of the best this year. However, some are going as far to say it can go down as an all-time draft class. One of them is CBS Sports analyst Josh Edwards.
Today Edwards ranked the top 10 draft classes since 2010 and said he believes two classes from this year, the Steelers’ and Philadelphia Eagles’, could be all-time draft hauls.
“Pittsburgh found ground value throughout the draft with Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones, Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr., defensive tackle Keeanu Benton and others,” wrote Edwards.
In addition to Jones, Porter Jr., and tight end Darnell Washington had first-round grades on them by respected draft analysts. Pittsburgh was able to get all of them without really sacrificing draft capital.
Jones has the potential to be a great left tackle, with former NFL general manager Doug Whaley saying he could be the best left tackle in Steelers history. If Jones pans out and becomes a great left tackle that will be huge, but the value the team got later on in the draft is even better.
Porter could be the Steelers’ next great cornerback and they got him at pick 32. If he and Jones turns out as some expect, the Steelers will have at least two Pro Bowl players come from the draft. Washington can be an elite blocking tight end who is also a plus in the passing game, which would make him a steal in round three.
Pittsburgh’s best pick though may be from round seven where it drafted Purdue cornerback Cory Trice Jr. Trice has dealt with injuries since high school, but if he stays healthy he can become a lockdown cornerback on the outside to pair with Porter. Not taking into account his injury history, Trice was projected as a Day-Two selection purely based off of play, yet Pittsburgh got him at the end of the draft.
Having an all-time draft primarily relies on grabbing valuable picks on Day Two and Three. The Steelers did that this year. We will have to wait to see how everyone looks in games, but the potential for the Steelers’ 2023 draft class is through the roof.
